I picked this up because of a song posted in the filthy guitar riffs thread. It's one of those "how the hell did I miss this" albums, ranking right up there with The Pretty Things' Parachute. The quality of material on this is staggering.
I picked this up because of a song posted in the filthy guitar riffs thread. It's one of those "how the hell did I miss this" albums, ranking right up there with The Pretty Things' Parachute. The quality of material on this is staggering.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Yeah, I found out about this one a while back, from (I think) a post on the old PE......an unsung masterpiece, IMO!
One of my all-time favorite albums by anyone. The 2005 EMI reissue is fantastic, as it contains singles I once had on an 8-track tape that were, for many years, unavailable to me.
Tonight
Chinatown
Down On The Bay
Do Ya (later covered by Lynne's ELO and Rundgren's Utopia)
California Man (later covered by Cheap Trick)
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
For sure it's a good one, always thought Looking On was heavier, (can see why some might be put off by the muddy sound tho'). The Wizzard's Brew record has some good similar sludge on it.
Proto-ELO!
Reminds me of my 1st year in college. What a musical awakening that was!
I've got a bike you can ride it if you like
Awesome stuff.
The BGO CD sounds fantastic.
What's good is very good. Unfortunately, "Don't Mess Me Up", "Ben Crawley Steel Company", and "My Marge" are dogs....
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
Looking On is definitely "heavier"! Message From The Country is very good, but i do prefer Looking On because it is almost all Roy Wood (lead vocals, lead guitar, etc.) and a lot less Jeff Lynne (since he was a new member in 1970 while Message has more of Jeff's more *mainstream* leanings since he was an 'equal' member by the time of this last Move record in '71. The title track "Looking On" is Roy Wood at his finest: a proto-prog-proto-heavy-metal-pop-rock extraganza! (Just check out the assortment of instruments that Roy plays on this record!) And "Brontosaurus" is a fun stomper as well!Originally Posted by Bake 1
But like spellbound writes, the reissue of Message From The Country is essential for the perfect Roy Wood single "Tonight" and for the extended version of "Do Ya", Jeff Lynne's finest moment as a member of The Move (imo).
The Move - Back.jpgArtwork.jpg
"Wouldn't it be odd, if there really was a God, and he looked down on Earth and saw what we've done to her?" -- Adrian Belew ('Men In Helicopters')
Parachute is a masterpiece, start to finish. Only album that ranks right up there with it is Abbey Road by the Beatles. The difference is that Parachute never descends into the "rockabilly" of Roy Wood, or anything like Bevan's horrid "Don't Mess Me Up".
I guess that's the thing about The Move for me, not having a consistently good record, Roy Wood's compositions could be so different than Jeff Lynne's. Almost like separate bands.
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
For me, there's not a duff track on Shazam, and my only criticism of Looking On is the overly-long "Feel Too Good".
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
Agreed. Plus, Jeff Lynne plays the (boring, basic) drums on "Feel Too Good"
"Wouldn't it be odd, if there really was a God, and he looked down on Earth and saw what we've done to her?" -- Adrian Belew ('Men In Helicopters')
I disagree. I love all of those songs, especially "Crawley".
To each his own!
"Always ready with the ray of sunshine"
I'm with you. AFAIC, Shazam! is the pinnacle and, after going through a Move binge a year or two ago, it's the only title of the bunch that I've ended up keeping.
What a brilliant, quirky, funny and slightly schizophrenic record....in the best way imaginable!
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